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Minister of State D’Arcy opens public consultation to assist development of a new International Financial Services strategy for Ireland

Minister Michael D’Arcy TD, as Minister of State for Financial Services and Insurance, today (Friday) launched a public consultation process to inform the development of a new strategy for the International Financial Services (IFS) sector. Submissions are invited on a number of key questions from interested stakeholders and members of the public who wish to put forward their views and suggestions on a new strategy.

The current strategy for Ireland’s International Financial Services (IFS) Sector, IFS2020, was developed as a “whole-of-Government approach” to drive the further growth and development of the IFS sector in Ireland. Since it was launched by the Government in March of 2015, the Strategy has been very successful in terms of increased direct employment in the sector with almost 7,000 jobs created by end-2017, bringing the total number of jobs in the sector to almost 42,000.

Commenting on the public consultation, Minister D’Arcy said:

“Ireland’s dynamic and competitive International Financial Services sector has grown and evolved significantly over the past three decades, thanks in large part to the IFS2020 Strategy and its predecessor strategies, to become a major component of our economy in terms of employment, exports and tax revenues. I secured Government approval earlier this year to begin work on a successor strategy to IFS2020 as International Financial Services are extremely competitive and mobile, and we cannot simply assume future success, particularly in the wake of challenges such as Brexit and the regulatory and tax reforms in the US.

My priority as Minister for Financial Services is to ensure that we have a strategy that clearly identifies what actions we must take in order to place the International Financial Services sector on a strong footing for the coming years. It will also detail the co-ordination and implementation arrangements required to ensure Ireland’s continued competitiveness. It is my intention to bring a draft strategy to Government later this year with a view to its publication in early 2019.

This consultation is an opportunity for interested stakeholders to contribute to the development of this sector over the medium-term. It will complement and add to inputs received to date through my extensive engagement with key stakeholders in Ireland and overseas.”

The public consultation document is available here. The closing date for submissions is Thursday 25th October 2018.

Submissions can be made directly by email to IFSconsultation@finance.gov.ie or returned by post to: IFS Consultation, Room 3.05, Department of Finance, Government Buildings, Merrion Street, Dublin 2, DO2 R583